There is a lot of talk these days about web
content. If you have your own website, you probably already know
that content serves the dual purpose of attracting visitors to
your web site and improving your ranking on the search engines.
Whether you are creating your own web content, hiring someone as
a content provider, or writing web articles for other people it
is helpful to have a solid understanding of what web content is
most effective.
Content attracts visitors…
On the surface, it is a fairly simple formula. People visit web
sites because the sites contain information that is useful or
interesting to them. If a particular web site has a lot of
valuable information, people will visit to read it and other
sites will link to it. Part of the issue is how the information
is written and displayed on the page. Keep in mind that people
do not read web content the way they read a book; instead they
approach the screen more like people read newspapers – they
skim. So, use headings and bulleted lists to help people scan
for the information that is important to them. If your headings
are compelling, your visitors will read the rest of the text.
Also, is your content exciting and interesting or do you repeat
yourself and ramble? As with any type of writing, people will
read things that appeal to them and draw them in.
But, only if they can find your content…
The way content is presented makes a difference in whether
people can actually find it on the web. You can have the most
compelling and exciting content on the Internet, but if no one
can find your site, it simply won't matter.
Making search engine friendly web content
Creating web content that is designed to attract the most people
by appearing in search engines in the highest possible position
is known as search engine optimization (SEO) or keyword
optimization. The higher a site's position is in the search
results, the more likely it is that a potential visitor will
actually visit the site. This means the visitor will then be
exposed to the products, services, information or advertising
the site offers.
So, what makes the difference between search-friendly web
content and web content that is less so? Search engines look at
the words you use in your content; they look for recurrence of
terms as well as words that are consistent and fit within a
theme. For example, if you want to attract people who are
interested in wine clubs to your site, you need to make sure
you use the term "wine clubs" in your content. Also use terms
like "mail-order wine," "Napa wines" as well
as other
associated words or phrases. However, if your web content
referenced "organizations interested in bottled alcoholic
beverages derived from grapes," while the average person
might know you meant wine clubs (if they'd had their coffee for
the day, anyway), the search engines would probably not include
your page in the results for a search on wine clubs
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addition, search engines look for sites that have multiple pages
devoted to a theme. A site with a single page about wine,
grouped in with pages about olives, chocolate, skin care and
mesothelioma
will not rank as high on a wine search as a site with a page
about Fume Blanc, one about Zinfandel, one about wine making
techniques and one about the Napa and Sonoma wine regions. You do not want the same content on every page; rather
you want related content.
The art of creating search engine optimized web content involves
finding the best key words to include in an article or on a page
– the items most people are searching for relating to that topic
– and crafting those words into an article that uses them
effectively. While some styles of writing rely on variety in
word usage, key word optimization requires a certain density of
terms. In other words, to be truly optimized content, a web
article needs to repeat the key words several times in different
content contexts.
Simple improvements you can make today
What else can you do to optimize your site for the search
engines? While there are many steps that firms take, some of
which are quite costly, there are some basic things that anyone
with a web site can do. Some of these tips are common sense, yet
an astounding number of web sites are not currently doing these
things.
Check your site for the following:
- Are any of your important keywords displayed as graphics
instead of text? Make sure you also use text on your web page
that includes the important terms your visitors may be searching
for
- Do each of your graphic images have an alt tag associated with
them? An alt tag is the text associated with the graphic; many
search engines look at this text as part of the content on your
page.
- Does each page have a relevant title and key words entered?
- Do your pages have enough content? Just listing your products
will not get you as high a ranking as including articles and
information about your products.
- Remember to use good web design principles when designing your
web site and arranging your content. While a search engine may
not care if your page is cluttered, unattractive or hard to
read, visitors to your site will not stay if visiting your site
is an unpleasant experience.
Resources
Want to learn more? Read the web
content FAQs
Are you realizing you need some more well-written, keyword
optimized, web content for your site?
For personal, customized content services, contact:
ann (at) monsterdance.com
Want to offer your own web content for sale? Sign up to be a
Constant Content provider. |
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